16.53 lakh voters to decide fate of Tej Pratap, Shakya

Mainpuri: Stage is set for by-elections in Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday.
District electoral officer Govind Raju NS said polling will begin at 7 am and continue till 6 pm.
Around 16,53,832 lakh voters are eligible to cast their franchise in the constituency, which was represented three times by Mulayam Singh Yadav and two times by his nephew Dharmendra Yadav.SP had not lost an election in Mainpuri, a Yadav bastion, since 1996.
The by-election in the constituency, was necessitated after SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav vacated the seat when he won from Mainpuri and Azamgarh in the general elections.
A total of 12 candidates are in fray. But it is mainly a direct contest between Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party.
Mulayam Singh Yadav's grand nephew Tej Pratap Singh Yadav is trying his luck. The entire Yadav clan, including Mulayam Singh Yadav and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, his spouse Dimple Yadav, Mulayam Singh's younger brother Shiv Pal Singh Yadav campaigned hard here for the entry of third generation into national politics. He is pitted against BJP's Prem Singh Shakya.
Political observers point out that caste equations play a significant role. Yadavs account for 35 to 40% of total 16.53 lakh voters while the rest include Shakya, Thakurs, Brahmins, Scheduled Castes and Muslims. The merger of Jaswantnagar seat into Mainpuri during the last delimitation drive has made Yadav's position all the more indomitable.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair elections. Over 1,929 polling booths have been established. The Election Commission had made arrangements for video recording and photography at all the polling booths. Seventy three companies of Central paramilitary forces and five companies of PAC will be assisting the local police in poll duty. In the elections held in May, Mulayam Singh Yadav had defeated BJP's Shatrughan Singh Chauhan by 3.64 lakh votes.